SydsArtSongs.com
Sydney F. Grey Author
Writer, Artist, Musician
Writing stories where darkness meets deliverance.
Author Notes for
The Trials of
Cairstin Blackwood
Thank you for your interest in the historical background for this story. Enjoy!
Historical Notes for The Trials of Cairstin Blackwood
Appleby-in-Westmorland:
Hamish Blackwood’s Tailor Shop – I begin a lot of my historical research exploring maps of the area I am interested in setting my story, then with a map of the place I’ve chosen that is as near to the time in which the story takes place. I knew that I wanted Cairstin’s father’s shop to be close to the river and the church, so while visiting Appleby in 2022, I took a close look at the small street that leads out of the north side of the main street to the bridge that crosses the River Eden on that side.
This string of shops has a narrow, fenced passage at the back of the connected buildings that borders the church yard of St. Lawrence, making it very convenient for Cairstin to slip out and cross the bridge to visit her favorite place on the outer side of the river’s bank, looking back at the church and the village.
I was unable to locate the owner of the precise shop I liked, so the interior is all my imagination.
St. Lawrence’s is a stately church whose history begins near to 1150, with expansions and renovations leading up to the most notable done by Lady Anne Clifford in 1655. It still has some of the paid pews near the front. The yard is wonderfully maintained and the cloisters at the end of the main street, Boroughgate, are a fitting bookend to the north side of the village, with the castle, not mentioned in the story, is at the other end to the south.
Appleby is well worth a visit. Here is a nice website to visit: https://visitappleby.com
Penrith in the Valley of Eden, Cumbria:
N. Arnison and Sons:
I discovered Arnison’s shop in the strangest way. I often use Google maps to find things in the places I’m interested in setting a story, and I will often use their Google Street View to take a virtual walk around the streets and look at what’s around. It was on such a “walk” around Penrith, looking for a place to put a draper’s shop, that I stumbled onto Arnisons, the longest running draper’s business in Cumbria!
I was so excited about the shop and its history and immediately began trying to get in touch with the current owners, the fifth great grandsons of Mr. Arnison, Nigel and Timothy Scott. I found the email address to the store and got in touch with Nigel’s wife and was able to visit the store in 2022 with my husband.
During our visit I met Tim Scott, who probably found me rather strange, allowed one of his staff members to take me all over the building including the back rooms and staff stairwell to the rooms on the upper floors. I was in heaven!
My portrayal of the building is as close to what it looked like on my visit, however, the placement of the ladies’ sewing room, the cutting room, and the tailoring room are my own imaginings, but the office, the staff tea room, and the customer facing rooms are all as they would have been at the time.
My portrayal of Mr. Arnison was developed from some of the information Mr. Scott provided me with and my own online research. I found one photograph of him and based my description of is appearance on that, but his personality is all conjecture. I hope the Arnison family will be happy with my version of their famous ancestor!
I was very sad to learn that after 283 years, the business closed just this last December, 2025. If you would like to see photos of the building and the Scott brothers – visit
https://cumbriaguide.co.uk/farewell-to-a-penrith-icon
The George Hotel:
Imagine my delight when my husband agreed that we could stay at this large, historical hotel on our visit to Penrith! He even sprang for a very nice room just beside N. Arnison and Sons so I could lean out the window and picture Cairstin walking to work!
The George is a beautifully cared for hotel that was established in 1597 and is a wonderful place to stay in Penrith. The staff were very helpful and the service was terrific!
My description of the place, which is a direct neighbor to Arnisons, is from our visit. Artine and I even had dinner at the table in the bay window where Mr. Soulier took Cairstin for tea.
You can get a great look inside by visiting the link here (click the photos tab):
The Penrith Castle:
The discovery of a castle just across the road from the Penrith Railway Station was a boon to my story!
Penrith Castle was built at the end of the 14th century by Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland. He and his successors played important roles in the defense of the Scottish border in the late 14th and 15th centuries. It’s position at the top of the hill looking over the Valley of Eden and the town of Penrith was strategic as well as it was aesthetically pleasing.
I loved picturing Mr. Dalton escorting Cairstin and the other seamstresses around the ruins for their impromptu tour. It was also a dramatic setting for some of Cairstin’s episodes of longing to find a place, like the River Eden, to find solitude and beauty. So Victorian Gothic!
There are some great photos here:
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/penrith-castle/history/
The Penrith Railway Station:
Once of the keys to the whole story is the coming of the railway to Penrith. Not only did the advent of this industrial revolutionary triumph change the scope of life for all who lived during this era, it was a great device for me to add to the atmosphere of the fear of the unknown.
The theme of the steam engine’s whistle and its foreign call over the town helped to increase the tension and Cairstin’s constant sense of being hunted like prey. That this symbol of fear would be the very thing that helped save her life added to the idea that the providence of God can use even the blackest things in our lives towards our redemption.
There’s a wonderful photo of it here:
The Glouchester Arms:
This historical pub, also known as Dockray Hall, was established in 1584 and is still a terrific place to visit.
When looking for a place to situate the “Bible Church” in Penrith, this place called to me. Although we drank a pint there in the well-maintained pub on the main floor, we did not venture upstairs, so the large room where the totally fictitious church would have met does not actually exist.
I gather that they are a great place to catch some live, local music! Visit their site:
https://dockrayhall.com/#about
The Yards:
“Yards” in English towns and villages are places accessed on the street, sometimes passing under an archway or through a short, narrow passageway between buildings, sometime with rooms built above adjoining the buildings on the sides of the entrance. Once through the entrance, there may be a small courtyard with residences or other sorts of buildings tucked in off the street, sometimes housing the families of the shop keepers.
Sutton Yard: This yard exist and is very close to Arnison’s just around the corner on the west side of the building. The residence of the ladies working for Mr. Arnison is a figment of my imagination.
White Hart Yard is directly on Castlegate at Corn Market Square. It has the perfect set of rooms over the entrance to the square where someone inside would have the full view of the square. The small apartment occupied by Mr. Soulier, later with Cairstin, exists only in my mind’s eye.
There are some terrific photos and a map of Penrith, including White Hart Yard, Cornmarket street, Dockray (Corn Market Square), the main square, etc. Unfortunately, Arnisons is covered by the map key. See it here:
http://www.penrithtowntrails.co.uk/downloads/cornmarket.pdf
Carlisle, Cumbria:
Carlisle sits roughly 19 miles north, north-west of Penrith and its beginnings date back to 73 A.D. It is a much larger city than Penrith, and its enormous railway station, still under construction when Cairstin exited the train there would have been overwhelmed, as she would have been leaving the station and seeing the Citadel (commissioned by King Henry VIII) immediately on her left and the large hotel to her right with a curving street before her lined with endless buildings.
As I was unable to visit the interior of the Citadel, and had to rely on scant photos and descriptions of the court room, which is actuality rounded to the form of the tower. It is not a large space but the wood paneling and furnishings, the high arched windows and tiered gallery make it an ideal place for courtroom drama.
All the other spaces within the Citadel mentioned in the book are of my own imaginings. I would dearly love to visit Carlisle again and see the courtroom firsthand.
There is a marvelous photo of the courtroom and an illustration of the Citadel here:
https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/t2030/story-so-far
Carlisle, Cumbria:
Carlisle sits roughly 19 miles north, north-west of Penrith and its beginnings date back to 73 A.D. It is a much larger city than Penrith, and its enormous railway station, still under construction when Cairstin exited the train there would have been overwhelmed, as she would have been leaving the station and seeing the Citadel (commissioned by King Henry VIII) immediately on her left and the large hotel to her right with a curving street before her lined with endless buildings.
As I was unable to visit the interior of the Citadel, and had to rely on scant photos and descriptions of the court room, which is actuality rounded to the form of the tower. It is not a large space but the wood paneling and furnishings, the high arched windows and tiered gallery make it an ideal place for courtroom drama.
All the other spaces within the Citadel mentioned in the book are of my own imaginings. I would dearly love to visit Carlisle again and see the courtroom firsthand.
There is a marvelous photo of the courtroom and an illustration of the Citadel here:
https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/t2030/story-so-far/
Carlisle, Cumbria:
Carlisle sits roughly 19 miles north, north-west of Penrith and its beginnings date back to 73 A.D. It is a much larger city than Penrith, and its enormous railway station, still under construction when Cairstin exited the train there would have been overwhelmed, as she would have been leaving the station and seeing the Citadel (commissioned by King Henry VIII) immediately on her left and the large hotel to her right with a curving street before her lined with endless buildings.
As I was unable to visit the interior of the Citadel, and had to rely on scant photos and descriptions of the court room, which is actuality rounded to the form of the tower. It is not a large space but the wood paneling and furnishings, the high arched windows and tiered gallery make it an ideal place for courtroom drama.
All the other spaces within the Citadel mentioned in the book are of my own imaginings. I would dearly love to visit Carlisle again and see the courtroom firsthand.
There is a marvelous photo of the courtroom and an illustration of the Citadel here:
Carlisle, Cumbria:
Carlisle sits roughly 19 miles north, north-west of Penrith and its beginnings date back to 73 A.D. It is a much larger city than Penrith, and its enormous railway station, still under construction when Cairstin exited the train there would have been overwhelmed, as she would have been leaving the station and seeing the Citadel (commissioned by King Henry VIII) immediately on her left and the large hotel to her right with a curving street before her lined with endless buildings.
As I was unable to visit the interior of the Citadel, and had to rely on scant photos and descriptions of the court room, which is actuality rounded to the form of the tower. It is not a large space but the wood paneling and furnishings, the high arched windows and tiered gallery make it an ideal place for courtroom drama.
All the other spaces within the Citadel mentioned in the book are of my own imaginings. I would dearly love to visit Carlisle again and see the courtroom firsthand.
There is a marvelous photo of the courtroom and an illustration of the Citadel here:
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